Why We Care

Why We Care

From the Field: Two Groups Merge to Form New Arizona Housing Coalition

Jul 10, 2017

The Arizona Housing Alliance and the Arizona Coalition to End Homelessness (AZCEH) are merging to form the Arizona Housing Coalition. The new coalition will participate in NLIHC’s state partner coalition. The merger took effect on July 1. By combining networks and resources of the two organizations, the Arizona Housing Coalition is now in a better position to effect change through stronger advocacy to achieve expanded support for affordable housing and homelessness programs.

The merger process began two years ago with extensive exploratory work and preparation. In April of this year, the respective boards of directors voted to approve the merger to better serve the more than 200 organizational members of the new coalition and to increase their collective impact.

Joan Serviss and Val Iverson will serve as co-executive directors of the Arizona Housing Coalition moving forward. In a joint statement, the co-executive directors stated, “The Arizona Housing Coalition will be a collaborative association that leads in the efforts to end homelessness and provide safe, affordable homes for all Arizonans.”

Both organizations share a common vision to house every Arizonan in a quality home that they can afford. This merger allows for a consolidation of programs, services, and resources to better achieve this common goal. Existing programming from each organization will remain in place and improved upon as this new Arizona Housing Coalition moves forward.